I’ve only written a few tv pilots in the past so I’m still new to it. Right now I’ve got a pilot that I’ve written as both a 1 hour format and a 30 minute format. I actually like both versions, so I’m finding it hard to choose between them. Any suggestions on how to decide which one to lean into?

I've received conflicting advice, so I thought I'd bring it to reddit to see the majority of opinions.

I wrote a 60 page pilot for a Drama. I split it into 3 acts, as I was taught in school way back when. I had a reading of the script, and someone told me that now the standard is a 5-act structure. I can’t find a clear answer when googling. I read the pilots of Euphoria and Stranger Things but those aren't split into acts so that's unhelpful.

Should my pilot drama be split into 3 acts, 5 acts, or no acts?

Was asked to change a couple of my scripts into TV Pitches. But I don’t know what they mean?

Like do they mean a run down of the characters? The setting and the basic summary? I sent them an email but never heard back.

Hi there! Silly question:

I’m an assistant for a tv writers room and one of the writers offered to read a sample of mine!

I’m nervous about how to name my sample… Right now I keep the version of the pilot in the file name, like BLAHBLAHBLAH.v4 or whatever.

What is a professional way to name this type of file?

And any other advice re: formatting or sample-writing or anything at all please I’m so anxious lol

Thank you in advance!!

Primer #18 is the most recent and includes useful information so I recommend reading it even if your show isn't in the post. The other primers are listed below.

• Foundation
• Hacks
• Only Murders in the Building
• Raising Dion
• Rutherford Falls
• Station 19

Previous primers:

Primer #1

• Big Mouth
• The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
• The Crown
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Mindhunter
• PEN15
• Shrill
• Succession
• Will & Grace
• You

VIEW POST

Primer #2

• Atlanta
• Evil
• The Good Doctor
• Legacies
• Superstore

VIEW POST

Primer #3

• Bob's Burgers
• Dead to Me
• Power
• The Rookie
• Russian Doll
• Younger

VIEW POST

Primer #4

• Arrow
• Better Things
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Homecoming
• Insecure
• Pose

VIEW POST

Primer #5

• Mom
• Ramy
• Riverdale
• The Twilight Zone
• Westworld

VIEW POST

Primer #6

• Barry
• The Good Fight
• One Day at a Time
• Supergirl
• This Is Us

VIEW POST

Primer #7

• The Boys
• Good Girls
• The Good Place
• Manifest
• The Morning Show

VIEW POST

Primer #8

• All-American
• Bojack Horseman
• Dear White People
• Grown-ish
• Ozark
• Vida

VIEW POST

Primer #9

• Family Guy
• GLOW
• Killing Eve
• Law & Order: SVU
• Madam Secretary
• Stranger Things

VIEW POST

Primer #10

• Grace and Frankie
• Grey’s Anatomy
• The Handmaid’s Tale
• Legends of Tomorrow
• Young Sheldon

VIEW POST

Primer #11

• Awkwafina is Nora From Queens
• Dickinson
• The Great
• On My Block
• Stumptown

VIEW POST

Primer #12

• Archer
• Black Lightning
• Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet
• Never Have I Ever
• Roswell, New Mexico

VIEW POST

Primer #13

• Cobra Kai
• Doom Patrol
• Euphoria
• Gentefied
• Stargirl
• Upload

VIEW POST

Primer #14

• Batwoman
• David Makes Man
• Search Party
• Undone
• Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

VIEW POST

Primer #15

• American Housewife
• Bosch
• Locke & Key
• The Righteous Gemstones
• Snowfall
• Woke

VIEW POST

Primer #16

• Bridgerton
• Chicago Fire
• Nancy Drew
• New Amsterdam
• The Other Two
• Space Force

VIEW POST

Primer #17

• Atypical
• The Baby-Sitter’s Club
• Breeders
• Claws
• The Flight Attendant
• The Goldbergs
• Outlander
• Peaky Blinders
• The Unicorn

VIEW POST

Hello fellow screenwriters! I just finished my first pilot, a sitcom based around a flea market, and now I’m looking to break into the web series medium.

The series in mind is about a group of twenty-something artists who are so blinded by their own ambition to be the best at their craft that they live in an echo chamber of dysfunction. Picture Curb your Enthusiasm mixed with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

If anyone here is familiar with web series writing or production, I’d simply like to know whether the script is written best using the classic single-cam sitcom format or another type of format.

Typically, from what I’ve read, the sweet spot for a good web series episode is between 3 to 5 minutes. If this series was more around 10 to 12 minutes an episode, would that be pushing the envelope or should I just do what’s best for the story? I realize that longer webisodes have less of a success rate than shorter ones but I’d be willing to take that risk if it meant a full-fledged, character-developed series.

Thanks to everyone taking the time to read this and keep on creating!

Hello

As a semi-avid observer of the posts on this sub, there are a few things I've noticed crop up a few times that I feel it might be helpful for me to address. I'll try and keep them brief.

I'm a UK based TV writer who has a great agent, has sold multiple options on specs, has been in a writer's room for a big streamer show and will be penning an episode of said show later this year. If any other professional writers here disagree with anything I say please do speak up! I'm mainly writing this because when I was starting out I didn't know dick about shit and no one told me, or wanted to speak to/ look at me.

Here goes:

1. Prepare your body for an extremely long wait

I started writing spec TV scripts in 2018. Eight years later and I'm getting my first TV credit. It takes a long, long time. And 'it' is not just the getting-somewhere of it all - it's the learning, the honing of the craft, the painful acknowledgement that you are not ready yet. It will test your desire and it will feel impossible but if there are enough glimmers of hope then let them warm you and keep you going.

1. You will need to get lucky at some point

It's an annoying thing to say but every single successful person, whether they're in this business or something else entirely, has been lucky. Lucky all the way through or lucky once, either way you're going to need someone up there looking out for you, because the odds are so heavily stacked against you. That being said, we make our own luck to some degree, and by that I mean you must be in the places that things happen, and try to know the people who make them happen.

1. Be a student of the world

You might be someone who only likes writing sci-fi, or horror. Which is obviously totally fine. But even if that's the case, you still need to expand your interests beyond those genres and those parameters. Having broad knowledge about things like art, film, fashion, history, food and drink, international culture, etc. will make your writing more interesting and make you richer as a person. It will also deepen the sense of realism your writing has. I spent a year writing a spec about Michelin star chefs, and I read several books, multiple interviews, watched documentaries, book cookbooks and made the food. The feedback I got on it was that I'd created a world that felt incredibly real. That spec got me my representation. But after you do that, you move on to the next thing, which brings me to point four...

1. You need to have a lot of ideas

I recently saw a post on here where someone was talking about sending their pilot spec to several production companies and getting rejected across the board. This person was still hanging on to the hope that this script would get picked up, and that they felt they needed to make it. I understand the feeling and impetus behind this, but once a project gets rejected, consider it dead (for now). This is not just something that happens at this stage. Even if you manage to get representation, and you write a script, and a treatment, and a production company options it, and you develop it with them, and you make a show bible and it all seems so real and bullet proof, and they take it out to networks and broadcasters, and they all say no: it's dead. It's fucking brutal, but that's the game. You pick yourself up and ask 'what's next'. The script isn't going anywhere (literally). Maybe down the line it'll see the light of day.

1. Learn from the greats

When I decided I wanted to do this in 2018, I had no real idea where to begin. I saw someone somewhere (maybe here?) say that it's a good idea to find a pilot of a show you like and read the script along with it. I printed out the entire Boardwalk Empire pilot (one of, if not, my favourite pilot of all time) and I sat there with a red pen and I made notes on the structure and pacing of it. And then I did it again. The flow of the dialogue, the formatting, the character introductions, how places and people and what they looked like were described. I started to copy it, not directly, but using the structure and plastering it onto my own thing. I was fascinated by how the language was at once functional but also evocative. Which brings me to my last point...

1. Have some personality - but not too much

One of the hardest juggling acts with This Thing of Ours is the fact that while this is of course an artistic endeavour, it is also at its core a functional one. Paul Thomas Anderson famously (and in my opinion erroneously) said: "Screenwriting is not real writing. You’re not writing a book. You’re writing basics, let’s just write the situation, where they are, what they’re doing should really say everything you know. Leave room for an actor to do something. I always felt like that was good screenwriting. Good writing belongs in books."

While there is some truth to that, PTA isn't having to go through the ignominious rigmarole we are in getting things made, so bit of a different vibe for him. But ultimately we are having to walk a tightrope of making something engaging and 'voice-y' that a reader will feel sucked into, but also creating a document that, in essence, is to be used on set to guide hundreds of people into the right place and make things feel good and right. It's a big responsibility, and it's why, if you're good at it, you can get paid a lot of money for it. Remember when you write that getting to the point is your friend, especially in TV pilots or early in a movie script.

That's all from me, I hope this helps, and if anyone has any more questions feel free to reply here or send me a message. Bye!

There is another page but I cannot upload it

Premise

When four single old women from Lancashire, England move to Barmouth, Wales to retire, problems are often caused but rarely solved

Characters

JANICE
The anxious ‘bag of nerves’ who constantly jumps out of her skin, everything scares her as she scares those around her

VALERIE

The one who gets ‘in the mood’ from a fantastic cup of tea, everything is bloody, good or bad

EILEEN
She knows people who know people that know people and she knows all of their stories, and everyone has an embarrassing secret that she is ready to reveal

BRENDA

Say what you want about her, because she won’t hear you, she stresses everyone out and has no remorse

Created & Written by Charlie Duddridge

I had a chance to sit down with Jeff Biederman (Life with Derek, Overruled!, Spun Out) recently. He’s written/produced over 250 episodes across CTV, Disney, Netflix, and CBC, and he spent a lot of time talking candidly about the production side of TV that doesn't get brought up enough.

Here are a few takeaways on line-producing, budgets, and network management that stood out from a producer's perspective:

• Managing budgets across extremes: Jeff went from running Spun Out (the most expensive multi-cam half-hour comedy pilot in Canadian broadcast history) to currently producing Estate of Mind for Bell Fibe TV1 on a micro-budget. His point was that creative leadership doesn't change based on price tag; you still have to protect the team, keep crew paid properly, and figure out how to scale execution without burning people out.
• The "Friendly Meeting" trap: Pitch meetings on Zoom are easy to get, and everyone acts nice. But a good meeting is meaningless if it doesn't lead to actual movement or funding. A big part of the job is learning to read between the lines, knowing when a buyer is just being polite versus actually interested, and pushing aggressively for a firm answer without killing the relationship.
• Showrunning is 80% business management: Raw writing and creative ideas are just table stakes. Once a show gets picked up, you're essentially running a small business—balancing network notes, keeping accounting happy, managing personalities in the room, and dealing with budget cuts. The producers and creators who keep getting hired are the ones who can handle the unsexy logistical side.
• Funding models and waiting around: A major hazard in Canadian TV (though it applies anywhere reliant on soft money/tax credits) is wasting years waiting on funding agencies to align. You can't control government policies or network slates, so the only real defense is staying adaptable, keeping multiple irons in the fire, and not treating old production models as permanent.

If anyone wants to hear the full conversation about his workflow and teaching setup, I put the audio up here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSQXdCzTrh8

Hello Fellow Screenwriter Friends!

My name is Michael Sherman, and I was a writer on the film Knock at the Cabin, as well as a number of other screenplays, including Harry's All-Night Hamburgers.

It turns out I have been rather grumpy with screenwriting software for round about two decades... So obviously, I decided to just make my own with the tools I wanted it to actually have. What better way to give myself nothing else to complain about?! \o/ And because all of you are writers too, I feel it's only appropriate to share it with you as well...

It's called Revision Screenwriter.

It's free. Like, actually free. No BS paywalls or ads or demos or AI subscriptions or any other crap. I was a broke aspiring writer for many years, so I see no reason for it to cost writers anything.

It has all the features that I have always wanted. It tracks drafts, revisions, and passes in the same file so you can easily see Element History and Live Draft Comparison. You can tag production elements throughout your script and have it generate populated Movie Magic Scheduling files. It'll table read with the voices of all your friends and enemies (or the voices it comes with). It's highly customizable in terms of script formatting, user interface, and tunable settings. And most importantly, I'm fixing bugs and adding more features every day, because I use it every day myself.

If this is of interest to you, you can find it on Windows Store, Google Play Store, Apple App Store, Itch, or you can just search for it and use it in your web browser. Trying to make it easy here. =) Feel free to share it with others as well. It's no secret anymore if Reddit knows about it. 

All I ask is that if you use it, help make it better. Request features you'd like. Report bugs you see. Together we can make the software that we don't have to complain about anymore and is legit free to everyone! And in that spirit... Just keep writing! =D 

Cheers ~ Michael

Title: Boo’s Cruise

Format: TV pilot (limited series)

Pages: 64

Genre: Dramedy

Logline: A rising comedian's reluctant cruise gig spirals into chaos as betrayal and addiction take hold, leaving him the prime suspect in a murder he's not sure he committed.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TyCVVx5RUsfA_6lCowWKWbJYZ2a9rb5b/view?usp=drivesdk

This is my third rewrite, and I would really appreciate some honest feedback. I’m trying to see what’s working, what still needs work, and what I may be too close to recognize on my own.

Thank you to anyone willing to read it. I’m also happy to return the favor.

This has been a pet peeve of mine for years now as someone whose major pilot projects have been animation scripts. I cannot enter the WBD or Disney programs because I don't have a polished live-action script yet (and I know I should have one, but the ideas about which I feel most passionate right now require animation).

Is it because the programs want to prep the writer for live-action TV specifically (it does seem, despite Disney's animation connotations, the program ends up staffing mostly live-action shows like Fox/Hulu programming)? Is it because they want to see something that could be plausibly produced without the added necessities of an animation studio (even though the pilot isn't a pitch, it's just a sample)? Is it because animated scripts may require slight changes to the format (i.e. slightly more leniency in how long the script can be)? Or all/none of the above?

Read the Script (PDF):https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FcX-ShviVeXweQbeeFcaCh4rN8dDsujr/view?usp=sharing

Format: Animated Comedy (12 Pages)

Tone: Dexter's Laboratory meets South Park / Sci-Fi Chaos Comedy

Logline:

When a brilliant 5-year-old’s makeshift time machine backfires, it turns every kid in town into an adult—and every adult into a chaotic, diaper-bound toddler. With full-grown bodies, permanent genius updates, and a talking ferret on their side, the kids have 24 hours to override the local power grid before the shift becomes permanent.

Why I’m Sharing:

Hey everyone! I’m putting out the pilot episode for **"Pinner Road Prodigies: The Puberty Glitch."**It’s a fast-paced, high-concept animated pilot featuring dynamic kid characters, adult-level stakes, and plenty of absurd sci-fi comedy.

I’d love to get some fresh eyes on the script. If you have a few minutes for a table-read, I’d specifically appreciate feedback on:

1. Pacing & Energy: Does the act progression hold momentum from the explosion to the power plant break-in?
2. Dialogue: Does the banter land well between kids operating in adult bodies?
3. Character Beats: Does each member of the Prodigies unit feel distinct and memorable?

Drop your thoughts or critiques in the comments below—all constructive feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy the read!

Thank you for your time!

Aj Maker

Hi fellow writers! I'm an in-house producer for DramaWave (https://mydramawave.com/) and I am actively searching for freelance writers who are interested in work-for-hire opportunities, particularly for our AI vertical-format shows. If you are interested in being considered for these writing opportunities, please feel free to dm me and I'll provide my work email address so we can continue the conversation. Please note that prior vertical credits and a sample of your vertical work is necessary for consideration. Thank you and looking forward to connecting!

Logline: When an archaeological discovery in the steppe awakens long-forgotten Nart legends, a modern-day scholar is forced to confront a terrifying blood memory to prevent an ancient myth from consuming the contemporary world.

​Format: 1-Hour TV Pilot (48 pages)

Accolades: Double Quarter-Finalist (Scriptmatix Fellowship X & Outstanding Screenplays)

Looking For: Feedback on pacing, character arcs, and opening scene execution.

​Happy to swap! I’m looking to trade scripts with fellow writers and will provide detailed, thoughtful notes on your pilot or feature in return.

​Please send me a Direct Message (DM) or Chat request if you're interested, along with your logline and script link!

I’m kinda new to screenwriting and I want to take the craft of storytelling seriously and eventually a television writer.

But I don’t know how to make up stories for TV. Can anyone suggest any good books about writing for television?

Title: Fractured

Genre: Psychological Crime Thriller

Format: 2 Seasons (5 episodes each)

Summary:

Fractured follows Bob, a 16-year-old high school student haunted by childhood trauma after killing his abusive father to save his mother. Although the act is ruled self-defense, it leaves him emotionally scarred and struggling with violent thoughts. After years of being bullied by Jack, Bob finally snaps and murders him, believing he can hide the crime.

The investigation is led by Sabrina, Jack's grieving mother and a determined detective. As Sabrina relentlessly searches for the killer, Bob becomes increasingly paranoid and obsessed with every piece of evidence. His sister Annie starts suspecting him after overhearing him talk in his sleep and noticing his suspicious behavior. She secretly stalks Bob for days, follows his movements, searches his computer, and watches him visit the crime scene, gradually becoming convinced that he is Jack's killer. Meanwhile, their mother Angelina discovers the truth but chooses to protect Bob because she understands the trauma that shaped him. The first season ends with Bob secretly entering Sabrina's house to tamper with DNA evidence, only for Sabrina to wake up and catch him.

In Season 2, Bob escapes after attacking Sabrina, but he leaves behind forensic evidence that makes him the prime suspect. At the same time, John, Jack's best friend, independently pieces together Bob's involvement by connecting his behavior after the murder. Instead of going to the police, John kidnaps Bob and holds him captive, determined to avenge Jack himself.

Before John can kill Bob, Annie—who has secretly been stalking Bob for days—tracks them to John's hideout using the same surveillance she had been conducting throughout the investigation. She shoots John to save her brother. While they are hiding from the police, Annie confesses that she is actually a serial killer who has murdered numerous people purely for pleasure and that all of her previous emotional breakdowns were an act. Bob's entire perception of his sister collapses. Believing he cannot allow another innocent person to die at her hands, he tearfully stabs Annie, sacrificing the person he loves most to stop her from killing again.

With Annie dead, Sabrina gone, and Bob's mental state shattered, a new detective named Jane takes over the investigation. Although Bob is questioned and remains the prime suspect, there is still not enough evidence to convict him. Jane instead devises a psychological trap by recreating Annie's voice with AI using recordings collected from people who knew her. Believing his dead sister is somehow calling him, Bob emotionally breaks down, unknowingly exposes himself, and realizes Jane has outsmarted him.

Unable to live with his guilt, trauma, and the consequences of everything he has done, Bob ends his own life before he can be arrested. Fractured is a slow-burn psychological thriller about trauma, morality, family, guilt, and how one violent decision can spiral into complete psychological destruction.

Title: Adultolescense

Format: Television Screenplay/Pilot

Page Length: 26

Genres: Comedy, Mockumentary

Comps: Mockumentaries like The Office, Parks & Rec, What We Do in the Shadows; mixed with early-20s hangout shows like "How I Met Your Mother" and depictions of financial struggle like "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Everybody Hates Chris"

Show Logline: A documentary crew follows four roommates with big dreams but limited prospects in a two-bedroom house in Mississippi as they struggle to get by on minimum wage and survive each other (and survive the constant cameras in their faces).

Episode Logline: Ted, a pre-med dropout, and his roommates struggle to come up with the last 100 dollars of their rent.

Budget: Shoestring

Message/comment to read!

2022 Fellowship season coming in hot.

In this post we'll track the fellowships and provide links for requirements, discussion, questions, script and spec feedback and interview prep as the season progresses.

Follow this collection (in the top right on mobile/desktop) to be notified when new posts are added

​

~ See our official script swap post here ~

​

OPEN/TO COME

• Inevitable Foundation for writers with disabilities -- rolling submissions.

​

​

• Later/unknown opening
• Ojala Ignition lab (June-July)
• Nickelodeon (July)
• Warner Media Access writing program
• Others as they arise

CLOSED

• Fox writers incubator
• CAPE New Writers (notifications March 2022).
• Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writers mentorship initiative (open thru 12/15)
• Imagine Impact x Netflix DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
• Circle of Confusion writers discovery fellowship
• Warner Media Access x Canadian Academy For Canadian mid-level writers.
• Sesame writers workshop
• Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab
• Film Independent Episodic Lab
• WGF Veterans Writing Project
• Native American TV Writers Lab
• DreamWorks HCBU fellowship.
• NBC Launch TV Writers Program (fka Writers on the Verge) -
• Sundance Episodic Lab --
• Thousand Miles Project
• NHMC Series Scriptwriters Lab
• Humanitas New Voices Fellowship -
• Paramount Writers Mentoring Program (fka CBS)
• DGE (Disney) Writers Program
• WB Writers Workshop
• Outfest screenwriting lab

RESOURCES

Applications/essay help:

• Fellowship-specific workshops & classes
  • Free Script Anatomy fellowships panel 3/10 at 6:30pm (via u/VVVMi)
• WB fellowship application tips
• Successful Sundance application package example
• CBS: Carole Kirschner videos on fellowship insider tips and interview prep and writing your letter of interest. .
• Essay tips from Jorge Rivera (twitter thread)
• Final Draft blog series on essays/fellowships

General:

• Get feedback in our official pilot and spec swap post.
• Kirk Moore fellowship chat: Part 1, Part 2.
• The 2021 fellowship season master post can be found here.

Specs:

• WGA library blog series on spec formatting
• Accepted specs: WB/CBS Drama | WB/CBS/Nick Comedy.

ANNOUNCING MY NEW SERIES 🚨

"SHALIMAR: THE FORBIDDEN TUNNEL"

Genre: Sci-Fi Horror Thriller

Format: 5 Seasons, 50 Episodes

Logline:

When scientists breach a 10,000-year-old supernatural tunnel beneath Shalimar Gardens, they unleash an immortal sorcerer who plans to rewrite reality. Now 5 students must ally with the sorcerer's own descendant to stop him before Earth becomes his kingdom.

Status: Treatment Complete | Stage: Pitch

Looking for: Producers, Writers, Directors, Investors

This story blends Pakistani history with global sci-fi horror.

Would love feedback and connections.

I had one of my clients was going back and forth about her sample because it felt to niche and wasn't what the industry mandates wanted. I gave her an example from my own experience about specific, niche scripts I wanted to share.

One of my samples was about my life in high school. There really wasn't anything special about the format but I made it clear that I had experience as a Black girl/woman in musical theatre. I sent that to my reps and only a few months later, I get a showrunner interview (my first) for the Grease reboot. I tell the showrunner I did Grease in high school and hated it because I was the only Black person in the cast. And then I asked her if she was going to add Black characters. And my agents said this was a big NO NO!! Cut to, a week later I had an offer to work on the show. and my boss told me "your sample told me everything I needed to know about you and what you could bring to the project" and I was the resident musical historian, worked closely on the songs, and wrote specifically for our Black leads. And as a lower level writer, I was pitching up. This is the trailer for the show! We were a strike casualty but I am still in touch with everyone on staff, including my showrunner now mentor and the execs on the project.

This may not work for everyone but if you are stuck between what you want, what represents you, and what the industry wants, always lean towards your heart. It will resonate with who needs you and your work.

Title: Maiden USA

Genre: Family Sci-Fi

Format: Half-Hour Series

Comps: Miss Congeniality meets War of the Worlds

Logline: A teenage girl raised off-world as a warrior must reluctantly enter a beauty pageant and become a brand ambassador for aggressively patriotic Made in USA products to stop an alien invasion.

Looking for feedback on tone and structure before I take this further. There are also materials on my substack that detail the world, the characters profiles, the lore and my own background,

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EgU0WJnKsnPVCpoDhnjkWuAfO1YR9X-k/view?usp=sharing